


Practice Makes Perfect

by tuppenny



Series: Growing Together [18]
Category: Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Fluff, Gen, fluffy fluff fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-30
Updated: 2018-06-30
Packaged: 2019-05-31 05:02:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15112331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tuppenny/pseuds/tuppenny
Summary: Ellie's acting a little off, and Jack and Kath aren't sure why.





	Practice Makes Perfect

**Author's Note:**

> Daniel is 5, Ellie is 4, Eddie is 3 ½, Nicky is 22mos, Theo is 6mos

**July 1913**

Katherine picked Eleanor, Nicholas, and Theodore up from her mother’s house at the usual time that Monday. “How were they today, Mama?”

“Mostly delightful,” Kate Pulitzer said, settling Theodore into the baby carriage. “Theo only slept an hour after lunch, so he might get tired earlier than usual tonight, but he was in a good mood all afternoon.” She handed her six-month-old grandson his teddy bear and his rattle. “And Nicky and Ellie played nicely together—lots of hunting for worms in the garden.”

“Ooh, that sounds fun! Did you find any worms, Bug?” Katherine asked, hefting Nicholas up onto her hip and giving him a quick kiss on the forehead. Nicholas nodded and laid his head on her shoulder. “Oh, my, it looks like hunting for worms tired you out,” she cooed, rubbing his back and smoothing his dark hair before turning to her daughter. “How many worms did you find, Ellie?” 

“This many!” Eleanor shouted, holding up two hands. 

Katherine bit back a smile. “And how many is that?”

“Seven?” 

Katherine adjusted Nicky on her hip. “How many fingers do you have, Bunny?”

Eleanor drew her thick eyebrows together and frowned. “…Ten?” Kate and Katherine nodded, and Ellie brightened. “Ten! Ten worms, Mommy, we finded ten worms!” 

“You found ten worms?”

Ellie nodded and moved to swing from the handlebar of the stroller. 

“Eleanor,” Kate said, a warning note to her voice. “How do we use the stroller?”

“We push it, we don’t swing on it,” Ellie said begrudgingly, dropping her hands from the crossbar and kicking at the sidewalk.

“That’s right,” Kate said. Her eyes flicked to Katherine, and then she moved closer to her daughter and lowered her voice. “Also, Kitty, your eldest offspring demonstrated no inclination to d-r-a-w this week, either, and she flew into a fit of... shall we say... 'passionately vocal opposition' when I asked if she was interested. The penultimate child was happy to create masterpieces without her, and I thought that might bring her around, but she was unmoved.”

Ellie looked up. “What?”

“Grandma wasn’t talking to you, Eleanor,” Katherine said. 

Ellie pouted, but, seeing she was getting nowhere with that approach, she looked at her feet. “Sorry.” 

Katherine relented. “She was just telling me that the oldest of my progeny has demonstrated an unusual resistance to engaging in pictorial activities.” 

“Oh,” said Eleanor, nodding sagely. Then she peered over the side of the baby carriage and reached in a hand to help Theo shake his rattle. “Okay.”

Katherine frowned as she mulled over Kate’s words. “Hmm. Children do flit from interest to interest, but… That’s odd. I’ll keep an eye on it.”

Kate nodded and bent to retie the ribbon strap of Eleanor’s sunhat. The bow had come undone, and, the way that child bounced around, there was no way it would stay on her head. “I’ll see you tomorrow, darling,” she said, and Ellie flung her arms around her grandmother. 

“Bye, Gramma!” 

Nicky waved a sleepy goodbye of his own as Kate hugged both him and Katherine, and then the Kellys headed towards home.

 

*

 

“Thanks so much, Kath,” Charlie said, a smile on his face even as the creases in his forehead gave away his worry. “We’ll… I’ll… _Someone_ will come pick ‘em up later.”

“Not for two days, at least,” Katherine admonished, taking Edward’s left hand and Daniel’s right. “You and Rosie and your new little one will need time to rest.”

“Two _days_?” Eddie said, dropping Katherine’s hand and crumpling to the ground. “Dat’s _fo’eva!”_  

“We talked ‘bout this, Eddie, remember?” Charlie said, wanting to sink down to his son’s eye level but unable to because of his leg, which always ached more when he was stressed. “You an’ Danny’ll come meet the new baby as soon as it’s born, but Mama an’ the baby are gonna need some quiet time to sleep.” 

“I’s quiet,” Edward protested, raising his head. “See?” He pressed his lips together and scrambled to his feet, face growing red from holding his breath, eyes bugging out as he stared up at his father. 

“My _goodness_ , you’re quiet!” Katherine said. “Will you come show Ellie and Nicky how to be quiet, too? They’re so loud, Eddie—I could really use your help.”

Edward released his breath in an exaggerated puff and looked skeptically at Katherine.

“It’d be a big help if you could teach them what you’ve just done,” she wheedled.

Edward looked back to Charlie, who nodded. “Aunt Kath’rine needs your help,” he said seriously. “An’ you get to have a sleepover with Cousin Ellie and Cousin Nicky, remember?” 

“An’ Cousin Theo!” Daniel added, moving to grab Edward’s chubby hand.

“An’ Uncle Jack?” Edward asked, still uncertain.

“ _And_ Uncle Jack,” Charlie said.

“If you’re good, he might even draw with you,” Katherine said, holding her hand back out to him.

“Wacecahs?” Eddie asked, allowing Daniel to tug him back towards Katherine.

“An’ fire trucks,” Danny said, squeezing Edward’s hand. “An’ trains!”

Eddie pursed his lips and looked from Charlie to Katherine and back again, assessing the grown-ups’ encouraging smiles. “Kay,” he said finally, reaching his free hand up to clasp Katherine’s. “Bye, Papa.” 

“Bye, Eddie. Bye, Danny,” Charlie said, clearly relieved they’d resolved this without tears and anxious to get back to his wife and see if it was time to call the midwife. “Be good.”

“We will,” Daniel said, his deep, dark eyes as serious as a five-year-old’s could be. “Take care o’ Mama.” 

“I will,” Charlie said, bending slightly to grip and squeeze his oldest son’s shoulder. “I promise.”

 

*

 

With three children under the age of five, the Kelly household was rarely quiet, but the noise level seemed to have increased tenfold with the addition of five-year-old Daniel and three-and-a-half-year-old Edward. “Ellie and Nicky are such hams,” Katherine sighed, holding Theo in her arms as her two older children ran riot through the house. Eleanor was leading the way, of course, with Nicky and Eddie hot on her heels and Daniel following bemusedly after.

“Yeah, there’s no doubt they belong to us,” Jack said, crossing his arms as he watched his daughter scramble onto the arm of the couch, scream, and jump off. “They love an audience.”

“Mhmm. And I don’t think I have the energy to stop them,” Katherine said as Eddie copied Eleanor and Nicholas followed close behind, his little legs kicking as he pulled himself up onto the couch. “Think Nicky will make it?”

“Not sure,” Jack said, scratching the back of his head. He and Katherine traded amused glances as Nicholas tried to clamber onto the arm of the couch, failed, and jumped off the couch seat instead. By the time he’d finished, Eleanor was already running into the nursery, presumably to jump on and then off her bed, and Eddie was chasing after her. Daniel, ever the sensible child, eyed the couch, shot a wary look at Jack and Katherine, and then grabbed Nicky’s hand to tow him after Ellie.

“Why couldn’t we have gotten one like that?” Katherine lamented, mostly kidding. “Thoughtful, cautious, quiet…”

Jack laughed. “I did warn you before we got married, you know.”

“That you did,” she said, shaking her head and smiling. “And you were right.” She looked down at Theo and kissed him on the head, adding, “But I was right, too. They may be holy terrors, but they’re the most wonderful children in the world.” 

Theo babbled at this and smacked his hands on Katherine’s shoulder. Katherine grinned. “Yes, Bear, that’s right—Mama loves you, sweet boy,” she cooed, chucking Theo under the chin as he yawned. “Yes, she does, mhmm, that’s right…” 

The moment was broken by a crash from the bedroom, which caused both Jack and Katherine to wince. Katherine bit her lip, Jack’s shoulders shot up to his ears, and Theo jerked in surprise before hiding his face in his mother’s shoulder. The brief, tense silence was broken quickly enough, however, with a loud “I’m fine!” from Eleanor, followed by giggles from Nicky and a shocked, “Are you _sure?”_ from Daniel.

Jack snorted and caught Katherine’s eye. “Oh, macushla. I think it’s time for a calm activity, don’t you?”

“Yes, please,” she said, kissing Jack on the cheek. “And while you corral the urchins, I’ll go put Theo to bed.” Theo stuck his fingers in his mouth and watched Mitzi, the family cat, slink into the room and hide under the couch. “It’s time for a nap, baby bear,” Katherine crooned, kissing her son on the forehead and carrying him into the master bedroom. 

Once she’d gone, Jack took a deep breath, rolled his shoulders, and headed into the nursery. “Hello, little monsters! Who wants to draw pictures with me?” He asked, interrupting Ellie’s efforts to herd Eddie and Nicky into the wardrobe for a game of hide-and-seek. 

“Me!” Eddie yelled, pushing the wardrobe doors back open and sending Nicky tumbling onto the floor.

“Nicky, too!” Nicholas said, scrambling to his feet. He ran over to Jack and lifted his arms to be picked up, hopping in place until Jack complied. 

Daniel beamed at the prospect of drawing with Uncle Jack and moved to hold Ellie’s hand. “C’mon, Ellie! Let’s go draw.” 

“No!” Ellie snapped, snatching her hand away. “I don’t wanna draw. I wanna play hide-an’-seek!”

Eddie had already disappeared into the living room, where there was a child-sized art table large enough to seat four tiny ragamuffins, and Nicholas squirmed his way out of Jack’s arms to follow along after. 

“But it’ll be fun,” Daniel said, reaching for her hand again.

Ellie folded her arms across her chest and turned her back to him. “No!”

“Eleanor,” Jack said, squatting in front of her, “Can you tell me why you don’t want to draw?”

“ ‘Cause I don’t wanna!” She said, her lower lip jutting out and her eyebrows pulled tightly together. 

“Please, Ellie?” Daniel said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “It’ll be fun, you’ll see. You _like_ drawing! We can draw pictures for the new baby—that’d be nice, right?”

“No!” Ellie yelled again, twisting to face away from Jack and Daniel once more. “No drawing!”

Daniel looked crestfallen, and Jack ruffled the little boy’s hair. “Thanks for your help, Danny. I think Ellie’s just a little bit tired right now. You go on and start drawing with the boys, okay? And I’ll be there in a jiff.”

Daniel lingered, casting an agonized look at Eleanor. “But Ellie…”

“No! An’ I’m not tired!” She shouted at the wall. 

“I’m going to talk to Ellie,” Jack said, squeezing Danny’s shoulder. “She’s not being kind right now, so she and I need to have a chat. You run on ahead, okay? I’ll be right there, and then we can draw whatever you want.”

“Uncle Jack?” Daniel asked, his tone hopeful, “C’n you help me make a card for Mama?”

“Of course,” Jack said. “That’s a great idea, buddy. She’ll love it. Go get started, and I’ll come help you in a minute.”

“Okay,” Daniel said, finally starting to head to the living room. He paused at the door to the nursery, though, and turned back to look at Eleanor, who was still standing ramrod-stiff, arms crossed, glaring at the wall. “I hope you come join us soon, Ellie,” he said, to which Eleanor just grunted. 

Jack gave Danny a reassuring smile and shooed him out, watching Charlie’s oldest child disappear from view. Then he turned his attention to his daughter, whose expression Jack recognized as the one that he himself wore whenever he was feeling particularly put-out. “What’s wrong, astoreen?” 

“I don’t wanna draw!” 

Jack suppressed a sigh. “I know. And that’s okay. You don’t have to draw if you don’t want to. But is that all you’re upset about?” 

“I don’t want Danny an’ Nicky an’ Eddie to draw, either. Make them stop, Daddy,” she demanded, turning her head slightly towards him. “Make them come play hide-an’-seek with me.” 

“Well, they want to be drawing right now, Ellie-girl,” Jack said, sitting down. “So you don’t have to draw if you don’t want to, but it’s not kind to make them stop drawing just because you don’t want to join them.”

“But… but I’m all by myself now,” Ellie said, her voice beginning to tremble.

“You don’t have to be, though,” Jack said, running a gentle hand over her tangled hair. “You can bring a book and read with us in the living room, or you can bring Snugglebun and Mimsy and Woof Woof and play with them on the floor. That way you’ll be with us, but you won’t have to draw.”

“No!” Ellie said, starting to cry. “No, I don’t wanna. Make them stop drawin’, Daddy, I don’t want them drawing! Make them come back an’ play with me!”

“Oh, Bunny,” Jack said, pulling her close and letting her collapse into him. “What’s really bothering you, astoreen? You _like_ drawin’, baby. I love all the pretty pictures you make. Why’s drawin’ got ya so upset all of a sudden?” 

She cried even harder, beating her fists against his chest. “I don’t like drawin’! I don’t!”

“Okay,” he said, catching her wrists so she had to stop hitting him. “That’s fine. That’s fine, but don’t hit me, baby. You know better’n that.”

Eleanor sank into his lap, sobbing. “I’m sorry!” She cried, curling in on herself. “I’m sorry, Daddy! I hate drawin’! I’m sorry! Please don’t be mad, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

“Ohhh, Bunny,” Jack said, cradling her close. “It’s okay, sweetheart. I forgive you. I’m not mad.” He rocked her gently and rubbed a hand on her back. “Can you talk to me, though? If you tell me why you’re so upset, maybe I c’n help.” 

“ ‘Cause I don’t like drawing,” she repeated. “I _don’t,_ Daddy, I don’t! I hate it, no drawin’, make ‘em stop drawing…” She subsided into tears.

“Okay,” Jack said, still completely confused. “I hear ya, astoreen. You don’t like drawing. That’s fine. But do you think you c’n tell me _why_ don’t you like drawing, baby?”

Eleanor looked up at her father, scanned his face, and cried harder. Eventually, she started to cough, which forced her to stop crying long enough to catch her breath. She shuddered in his arms and gritted her teeth, readying herself to admit something that had been gnawing at her for weeks. But oh, it was shameful, and it hurt, and she wasn’t quite ready to say it out loud… 

Jack heard her mutter something then, but for the life of him he couldn’t tell what. “Can you say that again, astoreen? I didn’t hear you.”

Ellie burst into a fresh set of tears. “My pictures are _bad!”_ She wailed. “They’re not pretty, Daddy! They’re _bad!”_

“What?” Jack clutched Ellie even tighter. “What—Bunny, why would you say that?”

“They’re bad,” Ellie hiccupped, her voice hardly intelligible.

Jack pushed her backwards and looked her straight in the eyes. “Did someone tell you they were bad?”

Ellie shook her head.

“Then why do you think they’re bad?” 

She rolled her eyes. “ _Daddy._ You know. _”_

Jack raised an eyebrow. “No, Bunny, I don’t. Use your words, please.”

Ellie sighed and sniffled, trying to calm down enough to talk. She wiped her snot on her hand and said, “ ‘Cause… ‘cause _your_ drawins are pretty, Daddy. Your drawins are _perfect._ ” She raised her eyes to his and started crying again. “An’ mine… mine… mine don’t look like yours! Mine are _ugly!”_

“Ohhh, Eleanor,” Jack said, hugging her to him again. “C’mere, sweetie. C’mere. Shhh, shhhh. That’s it, baby, there ya are, shhhh…” He rubbed her back and made soft noises into her hair, letting her cry herself out. Once she’d quieted into intermittent, stuttering sobs, he resettled her in his lap and wiped her face with the corner of his vest. “Okay, Ellie-girl. Are ya ready t’listen ta Daddy now?”

She blinked, coughed, and leaned her head against his chest, nodding slightly.

“Are ya sure? ‘Cause I’m gonna tell ya somethin’ important, so I need ya ta listen real good.”

“Mhmm,” she said, sticking her thumb in her mouth.

Jack sighed; they’d been trying to get Ellie to break that particular bad habit for months now, but she still fell into it when she got upset. Now was not the time to fight that battle, though, so he kissed the top of her head and said, “Okay, girlie. I’m gonna talk to you like a grown-up now. C’n ya handle that?” 

Ellie nodded.

“Alright, then.” He gave her a stern look and asked, “Eleanor Joy Kelly, how old are you?” 

Ellie pulled her thumb out of her mouth with a pop and mumbled, “Four an’ a third.”

“That’s right. Now, how old am I?” 

Ellie frowned. “Twelve?”

“No,” Jack said. “I’m thirty-one. You know how many fingers that is?” Ellie shook her head. “This many,” Jack said, showing her and watching her eyes widen in amazement. “ ‘S a lotta fingers, right?”

She blinked and nodded. “So many.”

“Yeah. An’ I been drawin’ since I was little little, okay? Littler’n you, even. Littler’n _Nicky._ ” Eleanor’s eyes grew wide, and Jack nodded. “Yep. So I’ve had lots of practice. Actually, I’ve had this many years of practice,” he said, flashing his fingers at her again. Her jaw dropped, and he gave her a wink and a smile. “I been drawin’ f’r more years than you’ve been alive, baby.” 

Ellie jammed her thumb back in her mouth and leaned her head into the hollow between Jack’s arm and chest.

“In fact, I been drawin’ longer’n Uncle Charlie’s been alive,” Jack continued. “Longer’n Uncle Day’s been alive, too.”

“An’ Uncle Spot?” 

“Mhmm.” 

“Aunt Night?”

“Yep.”

“Uncle Abbert?”

“Mhmm.”

“Gramma?”

Jack laughed. “No, I ain’t been drawin’ longer’n Gramma’s been alive. But I been drawin’ a long time, Ellie-girl.” 

Ellie nodded.

“An’ when I was your age, astoreen, I drew about like you do.”

She looked up at him, a calculating look in her eyes. “Show me.”

Jack shook his head. “I can’t. I don’t have those drawins anymore.”

Ellie frowned. “ ‘Cause they was bad?” 

“No, ‘cause…” Jack sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, I moved around a lot when I was little, Bunny, an’ they got lost somewhere along the way.”

“Oh,” Ellie said, satisfied with that answer. “But were they bad?”

“No,” he said. “They were good. And they looked a lot like yours.”

She frowned, trying to decide if she believed him. After a short pause, she asked, “Did you draw flowers?” 

“Some flowers,” Jack said, rubbing her arm. “Mostly wagons an’ carts an’ carriages an’ horses, though.”

“Oh.” Ellie took a moment to digest this new information, then tilted her head and commented, “Horses are hard.”

“Yeah.”

They sat in silence for a little bit, Jack keeping an ear out for what was going on in the living room, satisfied to hear nothing more than giggles and the hum of children’s chatter. 

“Daddy?”

“Yes, Bunny?”

“C’n you teach me how ta draw horses?” 

Jack smiled. “I sure can.”

“An’ then…” Ellie wiggled to sit up straighter in his lap. “Then c’n you pretend to be little an’ show me how you drawed back then?”

Jack laughed. “You’re a persistent little lassie, Eleanor Kelly.” He kissed her forehead and said, “How ‘bout this? I’ll draw with my left hand. I’m not as good with that one, so I’ll hafta learn how ta draw all over again, just the way I did when I was little. You okay with that?” 

Eleanor nodded and closed her eyes. After a few seconds of silence, she looked up at Jack and smiled. “I was just joking, Daddy,” she whispered. “I like drawing.”

“I know,” he whispered back. “Me, too.”

She giggled and hugged him, and Jack rested his head on hers for a few moments before saying, “So, Bunny, how ‘bout it? Wanna go draw with your old man?” 

She beamed and hopped out of his lap. “Yeah.” She raced to the door, and Jack took a second to admire his daughter, overwhelmed by how quickly she’d grown from a helpless baby into a firecracker of a child, how she’d transformed from a wide-eyed infant who was content to watch the world go by into a preschooler whose mind ran faster than he could fathom. _She’s growing up so fast_ , he thought, feeling his heart seize slightly. _If I could just stop time…_  

By now, Ellie had realized her father wasn’t right behind her, so she made a noise of protest and ran back to his side. “Come _on,_ Daddy,” she said, stretching her hands out to Jack so she could ‘help’ pull him to his feet. “Let’s go! We gotta draw horses.”

Jack shook himself out of his reverie, made a whinnying noise, and scooped Eleanor up into his arms. Her giggles turned to shrieks of laughter when he flipped her upside down to hold her by her ankles, and she laughed even harder when he began swinging her from side to side as he started to walk. “To the living room!” He said, doing a terrible imitation of a posh British accent. “The horses await!”

**Author's Note:**

> In case you were wondering, Rosie delivers a healthy baby girl. She and Crutchie name their daughter Beatrice Marie.
> 
> I wrote this like a month ago (or more...)-- I have not had much time for fun writing lately! I mention that just so you don't get your hopes up for more in the very near future (is there anyone out there like that? Is that conceited? I am just talking to myself now...) I have one more story pre-written, so there is that, at least!


End file.
